Sep 3, 2014 - SERVING BREVARD COLLEGE SINCE 1935 .... College Drive, Brevard, NC 28712, or send .... University of Flori
The
Clarion
Volume 80, Issue 2
Web Edition
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SERVING BREVARD COLLEGE SINCE 1935
@bcclarion September 3, 2014
The Williams effect:
A belated funeral song
By Kara Fohner Editor in Chief
In June of 2013, one of my best friends attempted suicide. “Jason” called me early on a weekday afternoon, while I was tapping out an article in Bilo’s internet café. “Hey, can you come over?” His words were frayed at the ends. “Yeah. What’s up?? Are you okay?” My stomach churned, and I snapped my laptop shut. “No. Just come over. I’ll explain when you get here.” I sped down highway 64 in my rusty maroon beater, my mind shooting blanks, and parked on the slope of his driveway. Ten minutes had passed, and I felt each one like the beating of a drum. I entered his house without knocking. He was balanced in the center of the living room, eyes blood-shot, hands trembling. “What’s going on?” I wrapped my panic in the soft of concern. Jason lumbered in uneven steps to the kitchen counter, and pointed to the three bottles, arranged in an innocuous row. He had swallowed the contents with a swig of hard lemonade. I dialed 911. At the hospital, they pumped his stomach, but they could not pipe out the depression that polluted his judgment. Thankfully, he survived. Many do not. According to a nationwide survey conducted by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the third leading cause of death in 10-24-year-olds. Clinical depression is often the little understood culprit, a disease so silent and pervasive that it can go unnoticed by friends, colleagues, and even family. When Robin Williams committed suicide, thousands mourned the loss of Pan, of Mrs. Doubtfire, and of the haunted madman in “The Fisher King” who discovered, but could not reach, his Holy Grail. Thousands more mourned the loss of a great man, philanthropist who, even off-screen, emanated a rare combination of personal warmth and intellectual brilliance. If Shirley Temple was America’s Sweetheart, Williams was the godfather of an orphaned
country. His empathetic, relatable persona rendered him an untraditional icon of masculinity in a culture plagued by disillusionment. Following his suicide, the public dialogue about mental illness was suddenly personal to the collective mind. Depression had received an unexpected mascot: a man that would never again receive a standing ovation from a live audience. The media swelled with new updates; the conversation became a chorus, and the dialogue, a funeral song. Katie Hurley, a licensed psychotherapist, wrote a viral, but controversial article for the Huffington Post titled, “There’s Nothing Selfish about Suicide.” “People who say that suicide is not selfish always reference the survivors,” she said. “[But] they do think of the survivors… Until you’ve stared down that level of depression, you don’t get to make those judgments.” Hurley poignantly described herself as a “suicide survivor.” She did not say when her father ended his life - only that he did. For those left behind, the trauma is ever-present. Like my friend Jason, most who struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts do so without a glamourous social identity. Many would, upon their death, receive only a paltry funeral and a blurb in their local paper. In college students, depression is an understated illness that quietly draws patients out of the academic world. They don’t always die. Many simply withdraw, lacking the energy to persist through years of intellectual labor. Some regroup and return, having devised coping strategies. According to the UCLA Loneliness scale, designed by Dr. Dan Russell at Iowa State University, College Freshman are the statistically loneliest people on the planet. It makes sense. They’ve just moved to a new location and shed their previous identity. They’re in transience, with nothing on hand but a dorm room of essentials: Textbooks, cleaning supplies, and framed photos of high school friends. By this measurement, they trump single parents, high school loners, and other groups that are stereotypically associated with loneliness. It’s rarely who you think it is. Thankfully, BC is well equipped with a mental and physical health center, located in Mary
Robin Williams
Frances Stamey, the narrow building located between Dunham and Beam. Dee Dasburg, a national certified counselor, holds her sessions in a modest, pristine office at the top of the stairs. “I have been in this profession for 21 years,” said Dasburg. “It’s not uncommon for students to seek counseling support when they’re having thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend. Over the years I’ve known a number of students who have lost friends and family members to suicide.” Dasburg continued by citing a recent suicide that shook the town of Brevard to the core. Quinn Harris, son of Mayor Jimmy Harris, ended his life on March 9, 2014. He was 17-years-old. At his service, his father said, “If he had just waited 30 minutes or an hour that day, the feeling would have passed. But he didn’t, and his family didn’t know.” “Most people who feel suicidal don’t really want to die; they just want to stop feeling how they feel,” added Dasburg. Williams’ death discouraged many. He was the proverbial sad clown, the hero who was able to inspire hope in all but himself. But his death has spurred a remarkable social movement towards the recognition and the treatment of mental illness in a system where mental health care is stigmatized and often inaccessible. Hopefully, it will also serve as a reminder: depression is different than other medical conditions in that the sufferer ultimately controls the outcome. You can choose to live, even if life seems synonymous with the struggle. You win by living.
Opinion
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The Clarion
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September 3, 2014
‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ review By Michael Heiskell Staff Writer
One of the first things you notice about “Guardians of the Galaxy” is just how much fun it is to watch. A highly enjoyable movie, “Guardians” proves that the superhero arms race isn’t won with gritty storytelling, but with memorable characters and the ideal that movies don’t always have to be dark and serious, but that they can be funny and outlandish and still be ridiculously good. However, there is a lot more to this movie than wise-cracking raccoons and space fights. “Guardians” is the story of Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), a Han Solo-esque scoundrel who gets caught up in a deal that turns out to be bigger than anything he could have ever imagined. The story starts with Quill being tasked to find a mysterious artifact called the “Orb” and sell it to a buyer. However, Quill discovers that the Orb is worth a lot more than anything he has ever gone after before, especially when he gets mixed up with a rag-tag group of felons. Comprised of a dangerous killer named Gamora (Zoe Saldana), a deranged prisoner named Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), a smart-talking bounty hunter Raccoon named Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and the soon-to-be-famous talking tree, Groot (Vin Diesel), this group is forced to work together to try and stop the evil Ronan thus becoming the Guardians of the Galaxy. Ronan the Accuser, played by Lee Pace, is the villain of the film and is also after the Orb. Ronan is willing to do anything to retrieve the Orb and thus advance
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the the Clarion larion Senior Staff Editor-in-Chief . . . . Kara Fohner Managing Editor . . . Sam Blakley Copy Editor . . . . . . Gabby Smith Opinion . . . . . . . . Arts & Life . . . . . . Alex Webster Sports . . . . . . . . Sam Marlow Photography, Layout, & Design . . . Michael St. Marie Business Manager . . Burton Hodges Faculty Advisor . . . . John B. Padgett TBA
Other Staff
The Clarion is a student-run college newspaper produced by student journalists enrolled at Brevard College. Unsigned editorials represent the collective opinion of the staff of The Clarion. Other opinions expressed in this newspaper are those of respective authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the faculty, staff or administration of Brevard College.
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his plot to avenge his people. The world that “Guardians of the Galaxy” takes place in feels fully fleshed out. Despite a setting that is unfamiliar to most audience members, we are never left trying to play catch-up. The storyline is easy to follow, and the universe and characters feel so fully developed that audience completely accepts them. Part of the success of this movie has to do with the stellar acting jobs, particularly Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana, who stole the show. All of the actors give a solid performance, even Dave Bautista, who gives a surprisingly good performance despite his minimal acting background. This being said, a film is only as good as the man behind the camera. Director James Gunn has established himself as a serious summer blockbuster director and established a name for himself. For those that already didn’t know him, he’s the screenwriter for “Dawn of the
Dead” and “Scooby-Doo.” His brand of humor that loyalist fans know and love worked especially well for this off-beat Marvel movie. As with any movie, “Guardians of the Galaxy” isn’t perfect. While fun and surprisingly moving, “Guardians” didn’t have quite as intriguing a villain as we are used to seeing within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Lee Pace plays Ronan the Accuser, and does a fine enough job, but Ronan himself just isn’t a very interesting villain. Ronan’s background is minimal, and his motives are only hinted. While this fact doesn’t necessarily detract from the film, as it mainly focuses on the Guardians themselves, it does leave something to be desired. Altogether, “Guardians of the Galaxy” is one of the most fun-filled movies of the year. It resonates on an emotional level, while still being utterly hilarious. It gets a rare 5 out of 5 stars rating from me, and is a definite “Must See.”
Death tolls in Gaza continue to rise By Arlan Parry Staff Writer
In the Middle East falls a small piece of land that’s had its ownership debated for many years now, and has recently began to become a political nightmare, and resulted in the loss of nearly 2000 lives. The Gaza strip is a 32-mile stretch of land that borders Egypt, Israel, and Palestine, separating the latter two countries. Gaza’s 2.91 percent annual population growth makes it one of the fastest growing countries or regions in the world. In 2005, the Hamas political party was elected into power in Palestine and this land became more desirable. Hamas is an Islamic fundamentalist Palestinian state. Hamas members, like most Palestinian factions and political parties, insist that Israel is an occupying power, and that the group is simply trying to liberate the Palestinian territories. After attacks by each nation Israel put up a blockade of Gaza escalating the situation. Numerous nations are viewing this as an international issue, such as the United States who are supporting the nation of Israel, as well as Qatar, Turkey and Iran who support Palestine. Pope Francis said, “The war
does nothing but worsen the conflict.” However, inside the territories the issue seems to be entitlement as there is a sense of birth right for the land and a continuation to fight from both sides. Benjamin Netanyahu the Israeli Prime Minister quoted saying that “We will not negotiate under fire.” This feeling is mutual between both nations. However, one can’t help but wonder how each side can state that they don’t want to talk about resolution until the fighting stops, when it is by their accounts that the fight remains strong. The death toll continues to rise. It is no secret that the differences in religions between the two nations is a strongly sensitive subject. Sides have been picked by world figures such as Mahatma Gandhi who said, “Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the English or France to the French. It is wrong and inhuman to impose the Jews on the Arabs... Surely it would be a crime against humanity to reduce the proud Arabs so that Palestine can be restored to the Jews partly or wholly as their national home.”
September 3, 2014
Campus News
| The Clarion
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Ceremony honors new IWIL students
Faculty spotlight
By MacKenzie Samotis Staff Writer
Photo by Amanda Higgins
Dr. Tina Bell By Amanda Higgins Staff Writer
Dr. Tina Bell is originally from Clearwater, Florida. She holds a Bachelors of Science in Zoology, which she obtained in 2001 from the University of Florida, as well as a Doctorate in Genetics from the University of Georgia, which she accomplished in 2009. Before obtaining her Doctorate and coming to Brevard College Bell worked for three years at the Florida Museum of Natural History. During this time she traveled to various areas of South America and the South Pacific collecting rare invertebrate species for the museum. She also used this time to decide what she wanted to do with her degree and in what direction she wanted to steer her career. At the time she was also an instructor for the College of Charleston in South Carolina, which of course helped inform her decision. Bell joined the faculty of BC in 2012, since then she had been working in a part-time position. This Fall marks her first semester as a full time instructor. Some of the changes she is now facing are conducting the lab portions of her Biology 120 courses, as well as co-teaching BIO 105’s lecture portion with new faculty member Dr. Maureen Drinkard. Bell's change in position comes from the fact the Biology department was lacking in full time faculty members. Dr. Frick-Ruppert was the only other full time professor and as Division Chair her time is extremely limited, and Dr. Llewellyn, a now a part-time member of the BC faculty, is in charge of senior projects. Bell states that, “We are hoping to rework the department with more full time faculty. I am also reworking the biology major and designing classes that will be gradually implemented starting in the Spring.” We all look forward to the changes that are coming. Good luck!
On Monday, members of the Institute for Women in Leadership (IWIL) gathered in the Porter Center for the 7th annual IWIL Pinning Ceremony. The IWIL women have many traditions but, as Dr. Margaret Brown says, “This one is very special!” During this ceremony the returning IWIL members, the RIWILS, recognize and welcome the new members, the NIWILS, into the program. Each of the NIWIL women were to choose a returning member to symbolically “pin them” and officially welcome them during the ceremony. To make the event more personal, the RIWILs wrote introductions for their inductee, specially pertaining to them. By doing so the ladies properly represent the four pillars of the IWIL program: service, character, collaboration, and community.
The event’s keynote speaker, Debbie D’Anna, BC’s Dean of Students, highlighted the idea of satisfaction being the decline of success. When talking to the room of women, she wanted to emphasize that being comfortable with your position in life means you no longer strive for success. Her words, which brought the room to a silence, indicated that she hopes for the ladies to shine bright not only in the program, but all through Brevard. Dee Dasburg, a leader in the IWIL program, ended the ceremony with her closing remarks. She talked of the close-knit family that the IWIL ladies formed, and reminded the girls of the commitment they made to themselves and to the Brevard College community. The IWIL Pinning Ceremony is a reminder of the responsibilities that the women accepted and will continue to cherish.
Recent events at Brevard College Here are a few photos from the past few weeks on campus.
Photo by Christie Cauble
Students did acts of community service on campus and in the nearby community for Move-A-Mountain Day, a traditional service event which takes place each semester before classes begin.
Photo by Rachel Anthony
The IWIL pinning ceremony was held on Monday night at the Porter Center. IWIL is the Institute for Women in Leadership and is a long-standing tradition at Brevard College.
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Chiaroscuro Release Party Photos by Rachel Anthony
Students and Faculty in the art department enjoy an ice cream social on Aug. 28.
September 11, 7:30 pm At the Porter Center
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Sports
Photo by Rachel Anthony
The Brevard College track is being resurfaced to make it safer and more comfortable for runners and walkers. The process should be finished in the next few weeks.
Track remodeling in progress By Savannah Cox Staff Writer
At the beginning of the summer, workers stripped off the old, red, rubber track, leaving behind the concrete oval that students see now. The rubberizing process, which is set to begin in a few weeks, will bring new life to the track, giving it a little school spirit and better shock absorption for runner’s legs. Money for the project has been donated by many outside sources in order to complete this project, including one generous donation from a member of the community. Norm Witek, Director of Cross Country and Track, and former BC athlete Mikal Peveto have also both donated money for the track. With Witek’s retirement plans underway, he is encouraging former runners to bond together
and donate money to buy a few necessities for the future track programs at BC in honor of their graduating classes. “The track improvements are going to provide a great opportunity to bring more people onto our campus in a positive light,” track coach Adam Malloy said. When resurfacing is completed, the track will be open to the public, BC Track and Field teams, local high school and middle school teams, and Brevard Distance Runner’s Camp. The track upgrades could also allow Brevard College to host track meets in the coming years. The new and improved track should be done in the near future. The completion of this project depends on the weather in Brevard, which is always a bit unpredictable. However, Witek, Malloy, and BC runners are excited to see the finished project.
The Clarion
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September 3, 2014
Unexpected resignation of track coach sparks curiosity, concern Students on the cross country team were surprised to learn last week that their coach, Adam Malloy, had resigned. Malloy assumed the role of head cross country coach in June 2013. Norm Witek, an exercise science professor with long-standing ties to the Brevard College track and field program, is filling in as interim coach until a replacement can be found. Additional details about the track coaching situation were not available at press time, but more information will be forthcoming in the next edition of The Clarion.
Adam Malloy
Athletic teams play first games of the fall season By R. S. Marlow Sports Editor
The BC Cycling team held their only home event over the weekend. Cycling teams from schools such as Clemson and the University of Florida were on campus participating in BC’s only fall cycling event this year. Next weekend the team will be on the road to ETSU (East Tennessee State University). Both the Men and Women’s Soccer teams traveled to exhibition games this past week. The Men’s Soccer Reserves were the first to face off, playing on campus against Belmont Abbey. I was able to catch the last ten minutes of the Men’s game on Sunday at UNCA via the web, which included a late goal from Jesse Omezi. Both Men’s and Women’s Soccer Teams will travel to Urskine on Wednesday, right before the Men’s Soccer
team takes the field for the season home opener Thursday, Sept. 4, against North Greenville. This coming weekend, the Volleyball team will take part in the Winston-Salem State Tournament, while Cross Country will be competing in the Catawba Invitational. Monday, Sept. 8, the Women’s Golf Team will be at The Anderson Invitational in S.C. The Men’s Golf Team will begin their season at Cougar Point Golf Club on Kiawah Island Sept. 15-16. According to a press release by Brevard College Athletics, Head Coach David Nelson had this to say about the team, “We’re very young, five sophomores and six freshmen, but I’m always excited at this time of the year. You never know who might turn out to be a great player. Even though the new guys bring great credentials with them, the adjustment to U.S. golf courses can be
difficult. I’m anxious to see how this team pans out.” The BC Football team will travel to Cullowhee this Saturday to take the field at WCU. Both teams are looking to improve after tough seasons last fall. The Catamounts were defeated 31-36 by the University of South Florida on Saturday, giving up nearly 300 yards on the ground. Players on the BC Football team are looking forward to playing in a D-1 setting and have been working diligently to prepare. The Tornado’s run heavy offense just might find a weakness in the WCU defense, but the trick will be keeping the Catamount offense out of the end zone on Catamount Club Day. I will be on the field and in the press box for the WCU game. Follow me on Twitter @RSMarlow1 for livetweets and Vines of the game on Saturday.
